St. Mary Lake Photo of the Day

Photography by Tom Anderson Added on February 9, 2017
in Photo of the Day

Photo 88486 of 187196
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February 9, 2017
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Nature Images,
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353.21 kb
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1024×683
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2
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8

Photo by jeremyjonkman

Topics: Lake, Mary, nature

rabka5, Tariq zeyad (Manager QAD), CAN YOU FEEL THE FORCE and 1 other person likes this.

CAN YOU FEEL THE FORCE

St. Mary Lake is located on the east side of Glacier National Park along the Going-to-the-Sun Road. The 10-mile long lake offers a variety of wildlife viewing opportunities include elk, mule deer and both grizzly and black bears. In the warmer seasons, wildflowers such as Indian paintbrush and lupine grace the hillsides; in the fall, the hillsides burst with oranges and yellows of the aspens, while winter provides cross-country and snowshoeing opportunities. As you travel on the Going-to-the-Sun Road, watch for numerous pullouts that provide opportunities to see Jackson Glacier, hike to 100-foot Virginia Falls or photograph Wild Goose Island. Just past the East Entrance, the St. Mary Visitor Center provides opportunities to meet staff rangers, learn about the park and see "the Backbone of the World" (as its called by the Blackfeet) through eyes of the Native Americans who call Glacier home. Another great way to experience the lake is via a scenic boat cruise. Glacier Park Boat Company provides tours June through September. Saint Mary Lake is the second-largest lake in Glacier National Park, in the U.S. state of Montana. Located on the east side of the park, the Going-to-the-Sun Road parallels the lake along its north shore. At an altitude of 4,484 feet (1,367 m), Saint Mary Lakes waters are colder and lie almost 1,500 feet (460 m) higher in altitude than Lake McDonald, the largest lake in the park, which is located on the west side of the Continental Divide. Here, the great plains end and the Rocky Mountains begin in an abrupt 5,000-foot (1,500 m) altitude change, with Little Chief Mountain posing a formidable southern flank above the west end of the lake. The lake is 9.9 miles (15.9 km) long and 300 feet (91 m) deep with a surface area of 3,923 acres (15.88 km2). The waters of the lake rarely rise above 50 °F (10 °C) and are home to various species of trout. During the winter, the lake is often completely frozen over with ice up to 4 feet (1.2 m) thick. The opening scene in the 1980 Stanley Kubrick film The Shining was shot at Saint Mary Lake.

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February 9, 2017 Like

Paul Howard

So beautiful, thank you for sharing this

May 18, 2019 Like

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